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I am rushed this Friday morning, meaning I will only cover the highlights on Thursday.

Please also know that I still do not use the word ‘so,’ as it is recommended that you avoid it for better writing.

I had three events on Thursday, making the day messy. I had a lunch meeting with Scott at noon, church meetings (SPRC for those who speak Methodist), and then the Theology Pub dinner/meeting at 7. I managed to write the blog and publish it before I had to head out. I then revised it using the standard editor (which does not support Grammarly) when I realized missed part of Wednesday. Yikes!

I got a text from Brad, my former boss. He enjoyed my Christmas card, letter, and ‘Retired.’ business cards I included, which made him laugh. It finally arrived at the Nike WHQ, and he did not get it until he returned to work in January. He is sharing it with other folks at Nike IT. It was nice to hear from Brad.

Air Ford (Escape) delivered me to McMenamins at Cedar Hills without incident, and I soon met Scott there. Scott and I got caught up. Scott was in Italy, and I had been to Michigan and New Hampshire since we last saw each other. We talked briefly about money. Scott is starting the withdrawal process; I am a few years from that. It was good to see him, and the trip to Italy sounded fantastic. Scott and I agree that we shall travel while we still can; we expect travel to become problematic when we are in our 70s. Build those good memories while we can!

I drove next to Volvo and met Logan, the technician who had tried to save the vehicle, once known as the Air Volvo. The pine-gray-colored XC60 Volvo still looked great, but the inside was wrecked with parts thrown inside (I decided not to pay another $900 to reassemble the SUV). Logan helped me get all my personal items (toolbox, blanket, emergency items, and papers about the car) from the vehicle. They even found a long-ago canceled credit card stuck between some parts. Logan offered $500 for the wrecked Volvo, as scrapping would get me about $300. He repeatedly apologized for not being able to save the car. I was emotionally numb then; I loved that vehicle, paid it off, and even cleared the title. It hurt to say goodbye. I kicked the tire and thanked it. Tears for the past.

My emotions were jumbly, and I was tired, so I headed home. As I rested and nodded off, I completely forgot about the church Zoom meeting. I realized I had missed the meeting at 3ish and called Bob and apologized. He was OK, and they managed to handle the issues on the agenda without me.

The Volvo repair agent, Doug, whom I have worked with for years, called me and asked if he could walk my papers to Volkswagen (VW), another part of the dealership, and see if they could make me a good deal on an ID.4, about the same size as a Kia Sportage. I agreed. Soon, VW called, and they had a great deal on leasing the all-electric ID.4. I agreed to not close a deal on the Kia until I had reviewed the ID.4 (including a test drive).

I read more and rested. The cough and exhaustion were back. I left early for the Theology Pub at McMenamins at Cedar Hills (yes, I had lunch there, too). Air Ford (Escape) got me there without issue, and soon, I was sitting in the side room they gave us for our 10 (later 12) folks. Robert was our waiter and could break up the table bill anyway with the new handheld paying machines. Food and drinks flowed.

The topic, with two people on a remote Zoom call, but still could hear and be heard (to some degree), was Faith in Action and referred to the life of the recently passed American President, Jimmy Carter. The discussions were friendly, with only an occasional comparison to the president-elect, and the conclusion was that Jimmy Carter often made the best decisions that were unpopular based on his faith and trying to find the right decision for the country. It was also observed that staying with the truth and unpopular choices is more straightforward than remembering all the lies and unrealistic campaign promises and trying to align with them. It was also observed that Jimmy Carter lived his best years chiefly out of office and made the most extraordinary contributions then. Others should follow and remember his life.

Once the meeting concluded, I headed home, showered, put on my PJs, and tried to stop coughing enough to sleep. I read more while the coughing responded to meds, and soon, I drifted off. I woke early and rolled over a few times. I am, I think, still in the East Coast time zone.

I also reconnected to my IRS account. This required taking photos of my driver’s license, using my video to show I was a person, and setting another password for ID.me for the IRS. I then used their process to send a pile of cash to the IRS for 2024. After I spoke to my CPA yesterday–Cornerstone in Hillsboro, I saw him when I dropped off my first papers to do my 2024 taxes (an annual requirement), and he suggested avoiding the underpayment penalties if I could. I repeated the same process with Oregon, too. He also told me that the Volvo loss is not tax deductible. Sadly, my CPA also believes I will likely get the standard deduction next year, meaning donations will not change my taxes for 2025. Thus, donating the wreck of the Volvo has no meaning in taxes. F**k.

Thanks for reading!

 

 

My cough, car news, and trying to play games dominated Wednesday.

I rose before 7, but I am still not able to sleep late as my body is still tracking on East Coast time. I, again, am easily transitioned as humans, I have read, are really on a 25-hour, not the 24-hour, clock, and we naturally drift later. I make liberal coffee from Equal Exchange brand coffee in my French Press. The exhaustion is still there, and everything is a little harder to execute, but I manage a banana with my coffee. My weight has fallen to 228, about five pounds lost on the trip. I am trying to return to the habit of recording food in my app and closing the month for accounting. But today was a bad day for habits and remembering the past, as you will see, dear reader.

I am now vice-chair of the Church Council (technically Lay Leader for those who speak Methodist), and Pastor Ken had Dondrea, Michael R, and me over for what I would call an alignment meeting. Ken reviewed what he thought would be a good structure for now and how to make this work. We plan to meet with a larger group on Saturday to introduce this structure, me as vice-chair, and to dream about the future. We will then try to coalesce the discussion into measurable goals for 2025 for the church and each group with responsibilities (committees for Methodists). My job is to help get the non-mandatory committees (Mandatory: SPRC, Finance, Trustees, and Nominations) back to order, have monthly meetings and minutes, and track against goals. I aim to help remove the pain of running these committees and communication issues.

Yes, dear reader, I raised my head and was spotted by the church leadership. That sermon on ‘Truth’ cost more than just time and effort! I should know better. I am now in meetings—an unlimited number! But it seems time to walk back onto the stage of life. Here I go, and as Douglas Adams wrote, “We apologize for the inconvenience.”

I felt slightly behind, but then I realized I had only been back in this time zone for two days (on Wednesday) and felt better. I finished the blog, put on damp underwear (!?), put the rest of the clean laundry back in The Machine, and set it to dry for 90 minutes. That worked. The permanent press setting works perfectly, and remembering what Dad Wild said, always use the permanent press and remove pants and shirts before they are cold. This prevents them from wrinkling, and they are wearable out of The Machine. No ironing is needed unless you want to look crisp. And then the ironing will be easier, too. The drying fixed the issue.

Dressed, I headed to First United Methodist, Beaverton, and enjoyed the meeting I described. Jack was at the church, and I helped with some electrical work. The screw-on that holds the ruined fixture was stuck; I slammed it with the side of the pliers (to Jack and Dondrea’s surprise), and then it was released (like a stuck lid or, more likely, glued). I also suggested we put some protective covers on the windows. I will order some when I get some measurements.

I had heard nothing about the vehicle once known as Air Volvo and dropped by the Mothership. The news was grim. The associate who was working on the endlessly increasing expense had been fired. The new guys said there was no reason to continue as the total repairs could reach nearly $20,000, and I am currently looking at $15,000 to complete the known issues. There are likely other items, and the Volvo has 71,000 miles. To be clear, “He is dead, Jim.” F**k! They don’t even know what to charge me for the work done. F**k!

I was unhappy and talked to Deborah, and I soon used Costco Auto to order a discount on a new leased Kia Sportage (priced, new, with discounts, at $29,000 to $38,000 or 1/3 of a new Volvo or other expensive import). I have a test drive on Friday (I moved the appointment from Thursday as I forgot I was booked).

Dinner was reheated chicken and potatoes I had made a few days before. It was good and I watched more Battleship New Jersey videos when eating. I headed in Air Ford (Escape) to the church. There, I met Z and folks, and we tried to remember how to play Ostia. It uses a Mancala system, and this took both Z and me a while to get this back into our heads. The game uses a Mancala to generate resources and select the next action. A bit crazy but interesting. Z struggled with the process but soon started to make it work. I won, but it was a learning game.

Ostia is set in the Roman Empire around the first Ceasars, like Concordia, and is about getting your ships across the sea to their final point-winning location. You build ships, port facilities, and make your turns more and more efficient. The game is a race like Istanbul and Concordia with efficiency being the most important support. We liked it again, having not got it on the table in a year or so.

I headed home in Air Ford (Escape). I need a brain cookie! I returned to Charles Stross’s A Conventional Boy: A Laundry Files Novel. This novel combines the Lovecraft Mythos with AD&D with homebrew updates. It is really fun for someone like me who has played Dungeons and Dragons since AD&D 1E. It is a good brain cookie.

While fighting the cough, I find Milano cookies and a bucket of caramel corn from Gaylord, Michigan (I think from Aunt Cathy and Uncle Martin) just as important as the antihistamine I am taking. The coughing slowed with the meds, treats, and a shower, and I soon slept early. I did not wake up and had a good sleep.

As the day went on, I was coughing more and more. I think it was just the cough meds wearing off, and I am still tired from the flights, packing, and freezing on the USS Constitution on Sunday. The time difference, three hours, cannot be helping. I went to Safeway and got some more High Blood Pressure (HBP) versions of cold meds at 8 at night and could sleep soon. I also got holiday Milano cookies–Double Dark Chocolate–which might have helped as much as the meds!

I rose early at 7:45 and had some food, plain raisin toast with a banana, read the news, updated Quicken with transactions, and enjoyed liberal coffee made in my French Press. The taste of liberal every morning started when President Trump was elected for the first time. The coffee bitterness reminds me every morning how much work we liberals have to do and provides me with the Hope (maybe that is the caffeine, but it feels like Hope) that someday the world will remember Justice, Compassion, and the love of Community. I recommend drinking liberal coffee every morning.

Soon, I was rushing and fighting the drifting-like feeling and cleaned up, showered, and dressed. Using the recently laundered underwear and socks. Traffic was slow through Beaverton, taking thirty minutes to transverse the Tualatin Valley Highway (which even had its own wiki page here) to reach 217, which feeds into 26, which leads to 405, and gets me to the stadium area not far from Richard’s house. I was only a few minutes late, but James, coming from Washington State, appeared a few minutes later.

While we waited for James, I described my trip and said that Deborah and I were now seeing each other. Richard, James, and I start another scenario of the Second Edition of Mansion of Madness. James, who purchased a pre-painted used copy, found some pieces missing. This scenario was missing most of the boards and miniatures, but we found substitutes, and the app that runs the game provided most of the information we needed. This scenario, rated as difficult, was the first time I felt the game captured a Lovecraft modern horror feel. The sanity and health loss were slowly building and created a more subtle clock in the game–better. This was a re-animator story, and we actually, on our board, barricaded the chapel against a seemingly endless supply of zombies. Ultimately, we solved most of the scenario by defeating the main monster, abruptly ending the battle with the world facing a zombie invasion. Oops! I suspect there was a better solution to stop the zombies, but still, it was excellent and immersive. I really felt that this play was worthy of the subject. I am tempted to play it again and try to find another non-world-zombie-invasion solution.

I was tired and headed home hungry and exhausted. I resolved to cook a pork chop, got home, and talked to Deborah, who was now going home after work. I defrosted the chop, cleaned up some fresh green beans, steamed them, and then wilted them in a frying pan with butter, sliced almonds, and fresh sliced garlic. I reheated some potatoes from Costco that I made from frozen the day before.

The porkchop was fried in a metal frying pan on butter, with the chop covered with generic Italian spices and salt and pepper. Once sealed on both sides, I moved the whole into a 350F for ten minutes. With the internal temperature of 170F, it was done on time. I removed the chop from the pan, put a hot pad glove on the handle (it is 350F hot and is not fun when you forget and grab it), and added water and cornstarch to make a pan gravy that I poured over the potatoes. It was a lot of food! I could barely finish it. I finished the green beans, which were two helpings.

As usual, I watched Battleship New Jersey videos and ShipHappens (though I did fast-forward some of their endless repairs) while eating, with the history of the reactivation of the battleships and their final deactivation better explained. I remembered the argument in the 1980s that the WW2 armor was more protection from missiles and could likely take multiple hits without loss, unlike modern ships where one missile would take out a warship and two hits likely destroy the ship and kill the crew. The story, as told by Ryan, the curator of the battleship, is more direct. The US Navy had no new vessel to mount the latest missiles, and the battleship could be updated to carry them. Also, there was a dispute that the US Navy mission included using big guns to provide invasion support, and only the Iowa class, the ship class of USS New Jersey, could fit both missions. I did not know this story. The Iowa’s were finally removed from service as the new navy ships came online carrying the missiles with the Regan’s Navy build-up. Congress would not pay the two billion estimate and would not wait five years to upgrade/rebuild the Iowa class into battle carriers. The argument for the need for big guns, while disputed, was abandoned. A fascinating history of the Cold War, with the Navy mission changing from defeating the Soviet Union to facing ad hoc but still just as deadly threats from Iran and other ‘rogue’ nations.

BTW: The Russian nuclear-powered Peter the Great is the last big ship classed like the Iowas (here) in service and was the reason for reactivating the Iowa class battleship (now all museum ships).

I was slow and coughing. I was out of focus and decided to just stop. I decided to shower, put on my PJs, and read. The new book, A Conventional Boy: A Laundry Files Novel by Charles Stross, was released today. I got a Kindle version and read it while trying to sleep. Eventually, I slept.

Thanks for reading.

I slept in until almost 9. I rose and found liberal coffee (i.e., Fair Exchange certified), assembled the French Press, and made coffee. I found the last of my steel-cut oats and cooked them on the stove. I opened a can of peaches and scooped out about 1/2 into a bowl. I found yogurt with fruit and ate all that while writing the blog until the early afternoon. The doorbell rang, and I found the mail and packages that had been delivered. I had the mail held, and then everything was delivered today. I managed to get through the packages. It was like Christmas again. Linda’s glassware arrived intact (Deborah mailed it for me). I will toss the pile of junk mail and try to get through the cards, bills, and year-end papers on Tuesday.

Deborah sent me a board game for the holidays (and thankfully sent it to the house): AbDucktion. I am looking forward to trying it when she is here in February. I also received a Kickstarter Ostia Pirates, another add-on for my copy of the Ostia Board Game from a previous Kickstarter. I found my new apron from my sister. I had packed it in my luggage and discovered it says ‘Chef Wild’; excellent! My books also arrived. It was like another Christmas.

I used The Machine to do my laundry, but it is drying poorly, and I will have to review how to service it. I managed to do three loads; the last one is finished as I write tonight. I had enough clothing left at the house (leaving some to make my first day back easier) and soon cleaned up, dressed, and made lunch. I found Trader Joe’s frozen meal of Butter Chicken and some frozen naan for lunch and baked them. I talked to Deborah, who is back to work on her break. Next, I called Enterprise Car Rentals and ordered a two-week car rental.

I walked to the local Enterprise office and waited fifteen minutes for someone to help me. They got me a Ford Escape, grey colored this time, for two weeks. I managed to connect my phone and got CarPlay to work. Perfect!

I drove to the Volvo Mothership and spoke to the service folks. Yes, my service person is off on Mondays even when he agreed to talk to you on your first day back, Monday. I decided to continue with more repairs.

Dear reader, I decided to pick the cheapest and most convenient solution. When you can’t decide, I use the corporate approach of cost as the tiebreaker. To replace the XC60 2018 Volvo would mean buying a new car for likely $20,000 or more and disposing of my failing vehicle. Living without a car, while financially appealing, would be inconvenient, and I would still have to scrap or sell the XC60. Finally, if the XC60 fails again, I can still sell it, recoup what I can, and buy a used Ford Escape from Enterprise (they sell their cars when done with them). The fantasy of living without an expensive vehicle and using Uber and rentals to fill in would require much more attention than I want to give this problem. Paying to fix the Volvo seems the easiest.

With that decided, I headed to grocery shopping. First, at 185 Market, I  purchased fresh veggies at a reasonable cost. Next, I bought meat, canned items, dry goods, and cheese at Safeway. All this I loaded into the cargo hold of Air Ford (Escape). I unloaded and repacked the pork chops, chicken breasts, and chicken thighs into smaller bags of one or two servings and froze them. I held back two slit chicken breasts for dinner.

I soaked the chicken breasts in salt water for 45 minutes, dried them off, and baked them for 10 minutes with oil and spices (reading an internal temperature of 170F, perfect). I steamed fresh green beans and wilted them in a frying pan with butter, fresh garlic, and almond slices. I baked frozen Costco potatoes as the starch.

I finished the beans and had some more potatoes. I put away the second piece of chicken and potatoes as leftovers for another day. As the coughing worsened throughout the day, I took more meds. I am tired.

I took a nap and rose to write the blog tonight as I have a board game at Richards on Tuesday morning. Sorry if it was just a simple day, but I needed to go slower for a while. Thanks for reading!

The morning started as usual, with me rising with an alarm for 6:30 and showering to be fresh for a travel day. I skipped church as I needed to pack and write the blog. It took three tries to get everything to fit in my two bags. I have collected only minor things to travel with for easy packing. Some gifts and books were mailed from Curious Books and John King’s Books, and Deborah got the fragile items (they arrived intact today, Monday) here (thanks, Deborah). I had to put a pair of pants in my carry-on and slide another in the suitcase’s side pocket. I sat on it to close the luggage, but it was expensive and meant for abuse.

Habits are easy when traveling as you are exposed to so much new, and you want to connect with something stable to give you a break. The new experiences can feel overwhelming. Thus, I had days of salmon bagels at Bagel Cafe, but travel is not about stability but, as I understand it, about discovery. I am done packing, checked out without surprises (other than there is no coffee this morning in the lobby!?), and have time. I plan to meet Clint and Annika at noon at their home. I searched the internet on Maps and found The Yolk Grill in Nashua, which is open and looks like a good choice.

I load up my two bags in Air Ford, NH, and leave the hotel one more time. I headed in the opposite direction than usual and used various highways via Maps to reach downtown Nashua. A plastic drink cup is the perfect holder for my phone for directions while I drive. I soon find parking after traveling a few blocks off Main Street to reach the place. There are plenty of cars here, a good sign.

I sat at the bar, and Jess was my bartender and waiter. I resisted all the alcoholic goodies offered. I order the Yolk’s Breakfast. Jess says that is one of everything, but actually three or so. It is way too much food. I take food porn pictures and, with Jess’s direction, share them on New Hampshire Eats on Facebook for a 10% discount. Excellent. I have just coffee and too much food. I pack the brisket for later, manage the bacon, most of the eggs, and most of the sausage, and leave the baked beans (fantastic for breakfast, I discovered) and potatoes unfinished. I am not alone. The food is perfect and impossible to complete.

Jess keeps filling my cup, and I write the blog. I finish the blog when Jess says, “Some more coffee so you can rush off,” as she notices I am watching the time while writing. Soon, the blog was published, and I took Jess’s picture and added it to the New Hampshire Eats post. Later, I get called out and update my post to make it more useful (not knowing there is a second Grill)—all good.

It is a thirty-minute drive to the house. I get there with a few minutes to spare, and only Ryder is up. Soon, Clint and Annika appear, and about thirty minutes later, we are on the way to Boston. Just three of us, Misha and Hope, demurred when asking if they wanted to see the USS Constitution on a cold January day in Boston Harbor.

The drive is primarily uneventful; Boston’s drivers are known to be unskilled and aggressive–not a good combination. We find parking in an underground garage just two blocks from the entrance. We had to provide IDs (Clint had to run back to the car to get him) and waited twenty minutes to be led on a ship tour. Our tour guides were all active navy, and most just out of BootCamp, Clint learns. USS Constitution is over two hundred years old and is an active ship with a crew. The crew is not wearing period uniforms as it is cold, and the officer in charge decided not to use them.

The USS Constitution is primarily a reconstruction now, with only 20% of the original ship existing (the naval tour guide said that most of that is in the keel). Most of the ironwork and fixtures are newer, with the stove not being original, at least from the correct period, I was told. Sadly, the Captain’s Cabin was not open, but it appears to be restored. We only got two decks down. I would like to have traveled one more down, but that was not part of the tour. The ladders are steep and crazy, so maybe it was OK to skip the lower decks. It is always interesting to see what compromises are made for historical ships. This is primarily intact inside, with most masts and sails taken down. The cannons were, I learned, a gift from Queen Elizabeth II, and it was strange to see her monogram on them, and some joker cast an arrow on the cannon to show which way to point them (?!). But it was worth a visit, and I took some pictures. We skipped the museum and the WW2 Destroyer, still in her Cold War configuration, as it was not open in the winter.

I should mention that it was cold and windy, but the insides were heated. The ship also was not bouncing around but quite still. This made the ladders approachable!

Next, we discovered a beer and pizza joint only a few minutes away: The Brewer’s Fork, next to a synagog now converted to a Dollar General! There, Clint and I enjoyed a brew. Clint ordered a pizza, while Annika and I ordered three meatballs with bread. It was excellent. Clint did have to move the car, as parking was on the street.

Stuffed, we headed to Logan Airport, and the signage left must be desired, with many cars flying across two or three lanes when the driver finally understood the signage. Clint had to change lanes twice as we learned that Terminal A (Delta) was not the same lane as the rental car return. Oh my! It’s not a place I would recommend to get a rental.

I said a quick goodbye and soon started dropping off my bag. I had to wait for a machine and then a long line to drop the bag. I am amazed by how few machines are provided at most airports. Delta had a large count, but each machine had a line two deep. I completed the ritual and had ninety minutes until boarded. I did help a few folks, as this process can be stressful. I remembered my phone (you can easily forget it and leave it on the machine–I know) and soon found the security (I am not cleared and have to join everyone) with all my goods intact.

I did not pull out my laptop (the last four flights had me leave it in my bag) and had to have my carry-on rescanned with the computer in another tray. I saw a lost laptop in a tray (it was not just me who was surprised). Shoes, coat, belt, but not my hat, come off. My person passed. I reassembled my person while my bag and laptop enjoyed a second proper scan ritual.

I find the gate, the last one, with an hour to go to boarding. I have noticed that I constantly travel through the furthest gate each time, suggesting that I have angered the airport gods or that some spirit enjoys seeing my reaction each time I somehow find my gate was the last again. “You are Damned to forever walk to the end of the terminal as punishment for always buying the cheap seats,” I could hear in a disapproving version of Derek Jacobi’s voice. While there is a bar next to the gate, I just read the news and surf on my phone.

I soon boarded the plane and found my seat. Placed my gym bag in the overhead bin (ignoring all the warnings that I should put it under my seat to be helpful). My coat went under my seat. I spent six hours watching movies and some TV shows. I did the last of Argo, a fantastic movie I started on another flight; I watched the newest Count of Monte Cristo (in French with English subtitles). I finished with the Transformers One movie, which was not bad for an animated film. The plane landed without issues at Seattle, but the folks were moving with no speed, and it took thirty minutes to get off the plane (my seat 36A); I then rushed and walked up and down escalators, took a train, and was not surprised that my gate in A was the last one. But they were holding the plane for late transfers, like me, and soon, I was on a nearly empty plane. Despite rushing, I waited thirty minutes for the plane to leave and soon arrived after a twenty-five-minute flight at PDX. Yay!

Yes, my baggage claim was the last one. I rolled my bags to the taxi lane, the last thing at the bottom of the parking garage. I waited ten minutes for a taxi as the line was long. I got a cab, and the driver was thrilled to get a $100 fair to Beaverton. He had only three fairs all day (including mine). I gave him a good tip, and I was soon home. He would have preferred cash (something to remember to leave $120 in cash in my wallet next time).

I did the minimum to get to bed, showered, and was happy to see everything as I left it about three weeks ago. The orchids and pitcher plants were looking well. However, the house elves could have cleaned the counters and swept the floors. In bed, in my PJs that I had put away for my return, and as with every night for a week, I struggled to stop coughing. Meds helped. I was soon asleep and happy to be home. It felt good to be back.

Thanks for reading!

Thanks to family, friends, and travel professionals that made this trip memorable. Thank you!